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Steven Osborne, Edward Gardner & the London Philharmonic Orchestra © London Philharmonic Orchestra |
Steven Osborne (piano)
Reflections on classical music, recordings and performances
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Steven Osborne, Edward Gardner & the London Philharmonic Orchestra © London Philharmonic Orchestra |
Rolf Wallin (b.1957): Twine
John Luther Adams (b.1953): songbird songs
Philip Glass (b.1937): Glassworks
John Luther Adams: Drums of Winter
Jonny Greenwood (b.1971): Suite from 'There Will Be Blood'
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016): Cantus Arcticus: Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, Op. 61
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Joanna MacGregor Credit: Pal Hanson |
Their concert began with a work by Norwegian composer Rolf Wallin (b.1957), Twine, for marimba and xylophone. Performed with enthusiastic showmanship by two members of Ensemble Bash (who contributed three quarters of tonight's percussion section), the piece contrasts the softer, warmer tones of the marimba with the harsher, metallic timbre of the xylophone. Starting from pulsing on repeated notes, the instruments gradually expand out to explore the extremes of their ranges, and flashing glissandi add fireworks to the climax.
Two works by American composer John Luther Adams (b.1953) also showcased percussion, but the first piece, songbird songs also saw the percussionists joined by the BPO’s flautists, Christine Messiter and Christine Hankin, here on piccolos and ocarinas. Across four short vignettes, Adams ranges from delicate morning birdsong evocation through to the mournful calls of doves (with Messiter and Hankin roaming the stage with their intermittent ocarina calls), and culminating in wild, joyful explosions of noise from marimba, bass drum, timpani and temple blocks. The second work by Adams, which launched the concert’s second half, was Drums of Winter, for all four percussionists. A movement form this cycle, Earth and the Great Weather, this is a visceral piece, exploiting the power of four drummers, sometimes with complex cross rhythms, but with tremendous energy when combined in unison rhythms, providing a great curtain raiser for the second half.
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Sian Edwards |
Jonny Greenwood (b.1971), known to many as the lead guitarist from Radiohead, composed the soundtrack from the 2007 epic film, There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day Lewis. The film explores the destructive power of capitalism through the story of a silver miner who becomes a ruthless oilman, destroying those around him in his pursuit of wealth. Greenwood produced a six movement suite from the score for string orchestra, with imaginative use of the swooping glissandi, glassy scrapings and a lively pizzicato movement, as well as some more conventionally atmospheric string writing. The BPO players performed with precision and enthusiasm, particularly excelling in the pizzicato movement, and Sian Edwards shaped the dynamics with clear direction throughout.
The evening ended with the full orchestra performing Einojuhani Rautavaara’s (1928-2016) wonderfully evocative Cantus Articus: Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, Op. 61. Finnish composer Rautavaara studied at the Sibelius Academy, before Sibelius himself recommended him for a scholarship at the Juliard School in New York, where he was taught by Aaron Copland amongst others. In this work, he combines his own field recordings of Lapland birdsong with his richly romantic orchestral scoring. The melancholic calls of the shore lark accompany the middle movement, with lively spring birds in the opening and soaring whooper swans in the final movement. Rautavaara's atmospheric writing was expertly sculpted by Edwards in conjunction with the recorded birdsong, and the BPO players were sensitively responsive throughout.
The evening’s performances were accompanied throughout by beautiful visual projections by Kathy Hinde, using a variety of effective film drawing on nature and bird life. Rushing water accompanied the more frenzied passages of the Glass, and stunning footage of starling murmurations and dancing cranes complemented the Rautavaara, and various birdlife and mountain landscapes provided a backdrop for the Adams. The films provided an overall cohesion to the varied programme, and avoided the risk of distracting from the impact of the music itself.
Hats off to Joanna MacGregor, Sian Edwards and the BPO for highly stimulating performances, and long may their adventurous and imaginative programming continue to provide a welcome breath of fresh air to the Brighton classical music scene.
Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, Brighton-based tenor Ian Farrell is back with another album, this time focussing on the world of musical theatre. It's Simply Showtime features ten tracks, some well-known and a few lesser-known gems, with a common strand of hope and the search for self-belief running through the collection.
It was back in 2020 just before things went crazy that Ian released Ten for Ten, celebrating 10 years of being sober. A global pandemic didn't stop him, with il Significato di te showcasing classical repertoire following in 2021. This new album is his most accomplished to date, demonstrating the strength and range of his voice in the musical theatre repertoire, showing strong technical command in some tricky songs here. But it also feels the most intimate album to date - despite some big numbers, Ian's approach is definitely to draw us into the world of the songs, rather than bombard us with glitzy showtime alone, despite the album's title. So for example, Somewhere (from West Side Story) is not belted out as it often is, and this is a more contemplative reading, building gradually to the final climax, with stronger understanding of the song's shape. Ian also talked to me about the broader meaning of the song, and that it can be interpreted as being about anybody who is struggling to find their place in the world, particularly relevant for all of us in the LGBTQ+ world today. This is echoed in the dark longing of She's a Woman from Kiss of the Spider Woman, the longing quest for love in Ian's voice in Where is Love (from Oliver), and more searching for a place in life in the deceptively perky Corner of the Sky (from Pippin), with a spectacular closing high note from Ian.
But the two numbers that stand out for me are Let me Fall, from Cirque du Soleil's show, Quidam, subsequently covered by Josh Groban, and the track that ends the album, You Will Be Found, from the musical Dear Evan Hansen. The former is all about taking risks and being allowed to fall, and taking chances - clearly carrying a double-meaning for Cirque du Soleil's highwire acts, but also life in general, and something that clearly has echoes for Ian. And it is in this song I hear his fullest expression, with power at the top of his range, and defiant strength throughout. That same depth of emotion is expressed in You Will Be Found, with its message of hope, again following on from that sense of searching expressed in Somewhere.
It should also be mentioned that Ian is accompanied throughout by Joss Peach, with some great piano and instrumental arrangements perfectly echoing Ian's intimate approach.
The album is available to download for free from his website (although financial contributions are welcome), on Spotify, and CDs are available on request. Ian's plans for 2023 include getting out there and performing live, hopefully appearing soon in Brighton and London - so watch this space for dates, and check out his social media links for more info.
Various. 2022. Arc II. Orion Weiss. Compact Disc. First Hand Records FHR128.
The Mariani Klavierquartett return with the second release in their cycle pairing Brahms’ Piano Quartets with those of Friedrich Gernsheim (1839-1916). Gernsheim’s music suffered from a ban in Nazi Germany, and never really recovered, and it still deserves greater exposure than it receives, so this cycle is to be welcomed. In the first pairing, Gernsheim’s quartet stood alongside his friend’s admirably. Here, perhaps Gernsheim suffers a little next to Brahms’ mammoth A major Piano Quartet, Op. 26, weighing in at nearly 50 minutes. The opening movement is full of passion and is of epic proportions, yet the Marianis ensure there is a lightness of touch where needed, and Gerhard Vielhaber on piano never overly dominates the texture, which is also testament to the excellently balanced recording here. The piano is freed a little in the romance of the slow movement, with comments from the strings pulsing around it. Again, the Marianis achieve admirable lightness in the Scherzo, despite Brahms’ weighty approach, and they give the Finale energetic drive, with its stomping second beat rhythms, yet pull back expertly for the lighter moments, and the slowing train is beautifully judged before the final race to the end. Gernsheim’s Piano Quartet, Op. 47 is much lighter in mood, and the Marianis bring out the hints of ballroom swing in the opening movement. There is plenty of invention throughout, and galloping energy in the second movement is contrasted with warm lyricism. The slow movement is warm and lilting. Here Gernsheim ruminates on his melodic material to the point of slightly rambling, but the ending is sublimely touching nevertheless. The finale’s jaunty theme is treated to lots of fugal treatment and running accompaniments in its variations, with the piano in particular getting to show off with racing, cascading scale passages, and hefty chords are combined with more wild scales for the exuberant finish. Another illuminating release, and I look forward to the final volume.
Various. 2022. Brahms & Gernsheim Piano Quartets. Mariani Klavierquartett. Compact Disc. Audax Records ADX11202.
In the sixth volume of his survey, pianist Barry Douglas tackles the second set of Impromptus, D935 and the Piano Sonata in A minor, D845 by Schubert (1797-1828). The Sonata was the last of three in the same key, and the most substantial of these. Douglas takes a weighty approach here, giving the opening movement the heft of a Chopin Polonaise, emphasising the drama. His tempi throughout tend towards the slow side, and this holds up some of the second movement’s variations, yet there is a spring in his step for the third movement scherzo, and the finale has suitable wildness in places. For the Impromptus, the first has smoothly flowing hand crossing and bell-like tone at the top, but the second is taken at a very slow tempo indeed, which means that the central bubbling triplets lose their urgency, particularly for the plunge into the minor key for its second half, and the return of the opening is in danger of grinding to a halt. The Rosamunde-esque dance of the third has poise and delicacy, but again could benefit from a little more flowing tempo, although the tempo does pick up as the variations’ complexity increases, and by the end there is a delightful flow in the rapid motion of Schubert’s decorative writing. The fourth has incredibly virtuosic running scales, and Douglas takes this at a suitably furious lick, making me wish there had been more of this fire elsewhere. After the exuberance of this comes Liszt’s gloriously rich transcription of Schubert’s Ave Maria to finish, and Douglas gives this great warmth and expression, as well as effortless virtuosity. Overall, a mixed contribution to his otherwise exemplary Schubert survey so far.
Organist Tom Wilkinson has recorded the six Trio Sonatas, BWV 525-530 by J S Bach on the organ of the Reid Concert Hall at the University of Edinburgh. These Sonatas are unusual in that Bach took the format of the trio sonata, with its three individual lines, and transplanted that onto the organ. Of course, it is not unusual for there to be three ‘voices’ in organ music - the right hand, the left hand and the feet on the pedals - but the degree to which Bach made these three voices independent and used them almost as separate instruments is very different, even from the rest of his own organ compositions. The organ used here has a beautifully soft sound, and Wilkinson selects carefully the stops used for each movement (these are all listed in the notes for organ specialists) to give variety of timbre. So for example, there is a bright, bell-like sound in the right hand for the Allegro of Sonata No. 1, which dances along, contrasting with the lyrical darkness of the Adagio which precedes it. The Adagio of Sonata No. 3 has a gentle, reedy quality, contrasting with the walking bass and intertwining top lines, then rapid articulation of the outer movements. That bright, ringing right hand features again in the Allegro of Sonata No. 5, and there’s a moody, tremulous sound to Sonata No. 6’s Lente. Overall, this is a very pleasing disc, and for a non-organ fan, Wilkinson’s effortless and even articulation of the complex three-part lines really brings out Bach’s daring use of the Trio Sonata form.
Bach, J. S. 2022. Trio Sonatas, BWV 525-530. Tom Wilkinson. Compact Disc. First Hand Records. FHR138.
The Tippett Quartet have added to the 150th celebrations of Vaughan Williams’ (1872-1958) birth with a strong recording of his two String Quartets, alongside Gustav Holst’s (1874-1934) Phantasy on British Folk Songs, Op. 36. Vaughan Williams’ String Quartet No. 1 was composed in 1909, after his time studying with Ravel in Paris, but he didn’t publish the work until after the First World War, in 1922. The influence of Ravel can certainly be heard in the opening movement, in its slithering chromatic lines and shifting harmonies. The second movement has more elements of folk-like melody, but that sense of fluid tonality is still present. The unsettling 5 beat metre of the Romance is striking, undermining the seemingly calm melodic lines and more straightforward harmonies. Following its subdued ending, the Finale bounces along with energetic propulsion, although there are glassy textures, contemplative reminiscence and an angular fugue before the final showy race to the finish, with rushing scales down through all four instruments. The String Quartet No. 2 was composed during the Second World War, in 1942-43, and was dedicated to violist Jean Stewart, and the viola features heavily throughout. Lydia Lowndes-Northcott on viola here sets the tone for an expressive reading of the work. The viola sets off in the opening movement, which is full of nervous energy, before the bleakly stark (coldly, and with no vibrato, as written, from the Tippett players here) opening to the Romance. The first warmth comes from the viola, and the violins’ pentatonic meanderings are reminiscent of The Lark Ascending, whilst the richly surging chords recall the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. The viola is again to the fore in the nervy, darkly shimmering Scherzo, as well as starting off the contrasting mood of the finale, full of meandering serenity and calm. Holst’s Phantasy was written in 1916, and performed the following year, but he withdrew the work, and it was only following his death that his daughter Imogen published a version for string orchestra. The version for string quartet used on this recording was edited by Roderick Swanston. It begins with another viola solo, with ethereal violins joining in pentatonic mode, before the first violin leads off with a sprightlier version over meandering accompaniment. The viola then takes over again with a jauntily swinging melody over a drone. Gradually the complexity of the textures builds, with weighty octaves and spread chords, before the intensity falls away at the end. The Tippett Quartet’s performances here are exemplary, but it is the String Quartet No. 1 that sets this recording alight with energy and variety of expression.
Various. 2022. Ralph Vaughan Williams String Quartets 1& 2, Gustav Holst Phantasy Quartet Op. 36 (ed. Swanston). Tippett Quartet. Compact Disc. SOMM Recordings SOMMCD 0656.
Finally, two discs from Convivium, with Christmas in mind. The Silver Swan is a disc of songs by two lesser known contemporaneous English composers, Eric Thiman (1900-1975) and Michael Head (1900-1976), Emily Gray (mezzo-soprano) and Nicole Johnson (piano) do a great service in bringing their songs to our attention. Both composers taught at the Royal Academy of Music, as well as having extensive careers as examiners and adjudicators at festivals. There are a few Christmas works from both composers, including Head's more well-known Little Road to Bethlehem, and an effectively simple setting of In the Bleak Midwinter from Thiman. Amongst the other songs on offer here, highlights from Head include the nostalgic Sweet Chance, and the passionate Nocturne, Johnson particularly impressive with its challenging piano part. From Thiman, The Silver Swan setting is strong, as are Sleeping and Song of Farewell, both full of lyrical expression and subtlety of setting. Gray’s command of the range required here is impressive, and her pure light tone can be contrasted with power at the extremes of the register when required.
Moving into unashamed Christmas territory, the Celestia Singers and Celestia Brass, conducted by David Ogden, with Rebecca Taylor on piano, have recorded Christmas Tidings, an album of choral pieces by Brian Knowles (b.1946). Knowles spent many years as touring musical director for Roger Whittaker, but many of the works stem from his time as teacher and composer in residence at The Royal School, Haslemere. Some of the 'swingier' numbers are less to my taste, but would be effective in a school setting, and they are performed with gusto by the singers and brass players. The more contemplative works here work better for me, such as the gentle setting of I Sing Of A Maiden, and Twelfth Night. Soprano Lucy Hughers also deserves mention for her touching solo in The Promise. The jollier numbers move more into John Rutter territory – so it depends whether you are a fan of that Christmas style or not. The performances here cannot be faulted, and the recorded sound is clear and warm throughout.